Iran president strikes again, likens Zionism to fascism

By Reuters

Haaretz

Tevet 3, 5766

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
who sparked international condemnation by calling the Holocaust a "myth",
has likened Zionism to fascism and said Israel was created in order to
expel Jews from Europe.

Analysts have said Ahmadinejad's frequent
anti-Israel comments are aimed at boosting his standing at home and in the
Islamic world. Diplomats say his remarks have hardened Western attitudes
towards Iran's nuclear programme.

In written answers to questions
from the public reproduced in several newspapers on Monday, Ahmadinejad
said the creation of Israel after World War Two had "killed two birds with
one stone" for Europe.

The objectives achieved by Europe were:
"Sweeping the Jews out of Europe and at the same time creating a European
appendix with a Zionist and anti-Islamic nature in the heart of the
Islamic world," he said.

"Zionism is a Western ideology and a
colonialist idea ... and right now it massacres Muslims with direct
guidance and help from the United States and a part of Europe ... Zionism
is basically a new (form of) fascism," he added.

The former
Revolutionary Guardsman again questioned why research and debate over how
many Jews died in the Holocaust was taboo and asked, if it was true that
millions of Jews were killed by Germany: "Why shouldn't Europe pay the
price as the main culprit of the crime?"

Ahmadinejad has previously
suggested that Israel should be moved to Europe or North
America.